Middle Grade Pick: The Serpent's Secret

The Serpent's Secret
Book 1: Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond
by Sayantani Dasgupta
Scholastic Press
2018
368 pages
ISBN: 9781338185720

Available February 27, 2018

The vibrant cover catches the eye, but the words inside will captivate and control middle grade readers as they race to finish this one. Book #1 is so much fun and filled with heart and voice that Dasgupta will have to dig deep into her writer's bag of tricks to top this one.

It is her birthday and twelve-year old Kiranmala (Kiran) has no idea that she's about to be the hero of her own destiny. She never believed stories that she is a real princess and that there are demons who will want to kill her. Demons called rakkhosh speak in rhyme no less! Kiran comes home from school and discovers her house has been ransacked. Well, worse than ransacked. It looks  destroyed. Her mother has left her a birthday card with a note telling her to trust the princes, some rupees and a weird piece of paper. In a few minutes said princes show up on her door step and promise to keep her safe. Oh, and it's also Halloween. So, there's that.

A rakkhosh is inside her house and means to devour Kiran and the princes if they don't escape immediately. Kiran finds the courage and spunk and defends herself and the princes. They climb onto flying horses and go in search of her parents even though the note said NOT to look for them. The princes assure Kiran that she is the real deal princess.

They travel into another dimension to find her parents, and Kiran discovers the princes have no idea where to search. As she finds her strength, Kiran becomes the princess her parents always knew her to be.

The voice of Kiran is hilarious and spot on. She is self-deprecating and genuinely funny and a joy to read. This is not a "girl" book. This is an everybody book for readers of fantasy. Give this book to those who love Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. They will have another series to collect.

This book will be on Scholastic book fairs this spring and will likely hit the bestseller list. It's going to be HUGE.

Highly, highly recommended grade 5 and up. Grade 4 readers who are good readers will enjoy this one also.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Magical Pick: The Last Magician

The Last Magician
by Lisa Maxwell
Simon Pulse
2017
512 pages
ISBN: 9781481432078

Magical, captivating, entertaining, and a delightful romp from present day to 1902 New York where thieves and thievery are celebrated and men in charge become powerful through tricks of magic and tomfoolery (sounds like modern day politics!). The Last Magician is the best book of this year!

Few people have an affinity (magic) in present day New York and those who do are afraid to show it. The Mageus have been underground for decades, prisoners in Manhatten. They dare not leave the island as they will die on the Brink, a dark force placed there to hold them prisoner by the Order. Esta is a practiced thief. She can steal anything and escape before anyone knows she's even been there. Her affinity allows her to move and travel through time. The Professor is counting on her to travel to 1902 and find the ancient book, steal it from the Order, bring it to the present and outsmart the Magician.

Most of the tale takes place in 1902 where Esta meets politicians, bosses, mobsters, second story men, thieves, brutes, policemen and magicians. She will have to find her way into the heart of the Order's fortress and steal the book. Her future depends upon it. Trouble is, the Magician is quite taken by her. One chance meeting and he is smitten. Esta is taken aback by the Magician. He is charming and witty. Surely this is not the man who destroys the future!

Esta is one moxie heroine! Readers will want to be her and travel with her. She is gritty, savvy and perfect in every situation.

At 512 pages, this read may frighten some readers. Please hold their hand and tell them it will be okay. This is by far the best 512 pages I've read this year!!!! Readers will feel all the feels and embrace 1902 New York like a native. Maxwell manages to take readers on a journey into brothels, dark streets, cramped tenements, high stakes poker games, dens of iniquity and mansions of New York mobsters and bosses.

If you haven't read The Last Magician, RUN to the book store, click the ICON, ORDER this book into your HANDS and ENJOY. You're welcome.

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. Some adult situations and seedy (but AWESOME) characters. Honestly, this book is a crossover into adult. It is less YA than adult but the heroine is a teen. Adults will love this book even more than YA readers.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick: Warcross

Warcross
by Marie Lu
G.P. Putnam's Sons
2017
353 pages
ISBN: 9780399547966


Goggles on. Enter Warcross. 

Warcross is not just a game; it's an alternate reality lifestyle embraced by millions worldwide. In a decade, professional gamers and ordinary people have become hooked on a lifestyle that enables them to escape the mundane of every day. Hooked is the key word. Some people are so wrapped up in Warcross, they illegally bet all their money and end up homeless or dead.

Warcross inventor Hideo Tanaka becomes a billionaire. Emika Chen is just a girl when she sees his photo for the first time. She follows his career and learns code due to her infatuation for him.

Emika  is a bounty hunter who collects money when she catches illegal betters on Warcross, but she's beyond living paycheck to paycheck. She's living meal to meal and her landlord is threatening eviction. Emika corners a criminal worth a hefty $5000 only to lose him again.  Distraught, Emika is about to give up and become homeless when she slips on her Warcross  neurolink.

Emika is not a pro by any means but she knows code and she's discovered a few weak areas  of the game.  Never before has she thought of sneaking in, but times are tough. Emika slips into the game and steals a valuable piece which captures  Hideo's attention. She is just the type of girl he's looking for. Hideo contacts her, pays her debts and hires her. Hideo needs someone for security. Someone sneaky. Someone no one in his company knows. Emika is the perfect person. No one will suspect a player to be security.

Soon Emika becomes a worldwide celebrity of the game. The matches are bigger than the Super Bowl, but Emika has a job to do. She has to find out who is bugging the game and why. Emika is living a surreal experience: she has fantasized about meeting Hideo for years and now she's working for him. All is not as it seems.

Warcross is a slam dunk and a high powered adrenaline rush. Gamers will delight. If someone doesn't develop Warcross as a real game, it's a missed opportunity. Cover art is spectacular. Kudos to the marketing and graphic arts team.

Highly, highly recommended grade 8 and up. Reluctant readers who enjoy video games may be intrigued.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.